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LICA MEETS WITH NEW TOB DPW ADMINISTRATION

Last Friday, LICA Executive Director Marc Herbst and several board members met at the Town of Oyster Bay (TOB) Department of Public Works (DPW) headquarters to meet with newly appointed Deputy Supervisor Gregory W. Carman Jr. and CommissionerRichard W. Lenz, P.E. They were joined by long-time Town Councilman Anthony Macagnone, who is extremely familiar with public works and Town procedures.

LICA requested the meeting in an effort to begin dialogue with the new TOB administration under Supervisor Joseph Saladino. LICA inquired about the Town’s infrastructure plans for the current and upcoming budget year. Additionally, we discussed the recent historical TOB practices regarding the bid process and how contracts have been awarded, administered and inspected. LICA offered several suggestions to the Commissioner on simple ways to make the bid process more transparent and equitable, which would in turn make bidding more competitive, thereby benefitting both the Town and its taxpayers. LICA also provided some historical research on TOB highway spending which illustrated that perhaps the Town was not getting maximum “bang for its buck”. Much to the agreement of Councilman Macagnone, the importance of oversight was also discussed and LICA reiterated the need to enforce prevailing wage rate laws. LICA strongly supports oversight efforts such as certifying payrolls and doing more on-site job inspections to ensure compliance and further protect taxpayers. Before wrapping up, LICA inquired about the possible existence of projects which may be “shovel ready” but have yet to be let. It is a matter that the Commissioner said he would explore.

LICA felt the conversation was positive and productive. Both Deputy Supervisor Carman and Commissioner Lenz appeared to be extremely receptive to many of the suggestions LICA provided. They made it clear that the new administration (and the DPW in particular) is strongly committed to improving processes and policies which will increase transparency and create efficiencies that benefit the town and taxpayers alike. These changes should prove to be beneficial for the construction industry and LICA members as well.